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Meet the pro skaters in this year’s Sosh Highlight event at Generator Paris

18 Apr 2016

During the first week of May, Generator Paris will transform into a hub of skate talent, housing riders, videographers, and photographers.

The reason? We’ve partnered with Sosh Highlight, a skate and video competition that gives non-professional skaters – known as the Wild Cards – the chance to battle six pro riders. The teams will be based at Generator Paris, and Café Fabien will become their makeshift video production office. From 1 May to 6 May, all teams will explore Paris’s best skate spots, armed only with smartphones. They will have six days to record and produce a skate video that lasts no longer than 2min 30secs. How to win? Be creative, stylish and original. And yes, there will be prize money!

Paris is my favourite place to skate because of the smooth sidewalks and the size of the city. Plus you don’t get bothered by the cops.”

“When I’m not skating I shoot pictures, go to exhibitions, flee markets, go to the bar and spend time with my girlfriend.”

“When I was a kid I looked up to skaters like Rick McCrank and Leo Romero, but now I guess I get more influenced by my own friends.”

On turning pro: “I felt a hangover the next day.”

Bastien Duverdier, 27. Sponsors: Vans, Element, Dakine.

“I discovered skateboarding like most skaters: I saw a guy in the street ollie up a sidewalk, and then I was fascinated. I stopped judo. Then I stopped being good at school and I became a skate rat!”

“It’s crazy to be a part of the Vans team and see the evolution. Back in the day when they hooked me up, it was not that big, and now it’s huge. We are in this crazy world of corporates, capital, but they’ve been supporting skateboarding since day one. I like that.”

“Pro skaters like Andrew Reynolds, Arto Saari, and Ali Boulala were the idols of my generation. But today there are so many skaters I can't even say one name; I like all types of creative skateboarding.”

Robin Bolian, 17. Sponsors: Element, ABS Skateshop

“I started skating when I was 9 or 10 years old.”

“I love skating transition and I love street. I skate all – bowl, vert and street!”

“When I’m not travelling I study school and train every day to improve my skating.”

“I hope to make a good video part in the future. And I hope to skate for a very long time!”

Alex Richard, 25. Sponsors: Vans.

“I’ve been skating since I was 10, but the first time I discovered it was by playing Tony Hawk Pro Skater with my cousin and getting to watch the ‘secret tapes’.”

“I’m from Bordeaux and I’ve always lived there. There are a lot of spots, a lot of skateboarders, and the good thing is you get to skate with a lot of different generations of skaters. Everyone seems to get along.”

“My favourite thing about travelling would be being a part of that team because it’s just better and funnier to be around your friends if you have to skate and discover a new country. You get to know everyone better after spending weeks sleeping in the same tent.”

“I don’t really listen to music when I skate, but I would be down to skate to a Fela Kuti song in a video part.”

"I was really into Geoff Rowley after the Flip Sorry video. Everyday after school I watched his part and I was going to skate alone in the indoor local skatepark listening to Motorhead. The influence I got from Geoff Rowley and the Antiz skateboard team was to skate fast and on all kinds of terrain."

“I opened the skate shop Skate Pistols with my mum when I was 18 ‘cause I was so into skateboarding I just followed my heart. I was bored at school cause I was dreaming too much of skateboarding. Skate Pistols was my school, learning how to manage a business, association, and a team. After 3 years and a half we decided to close the skate shop. It's really hard and I had issues with some big companies; they were forcing me to order certain shoes, to have the company in the shop. Fuck them hard!”

“As a photographer I shoot street life most of the time, but also drunk people and things like hat... I like to show what we are living on skate trips and stuff. Haha.”

“I started skating when a mini-ramp had been built two streets away from my house. To other people, skating was unusual. There was a bit more hate in general towards skateboarders. Like, I couldn’t really take my board to school ‘cause I would get beat up. Now it’s different.”

“The best thing about travelling is the good weather, unlike the shitty weather in Belgium where I live. Also just seeing new places because of skateboarding is amazing.”

“If my legs are good my favourite trick will be a flat-ground trick. If I’m kinda tired everything will feel better in transition. Maybe a backside powerslide; they’re always fun.”

Header image: Remy Taveira in America. Photo: Tadashi Yamoada

WRITTEN BY

PARALLEL TEAM

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